The Unplanned Sabbath Rest
by Terri Bonin
Once upon a time my family was empty. Our front door revolved. Our house was a place to change clothes. Schedules overlapped and the calendar resembled a two-year old’s scribble pad. My husband worked hard at our successful dental practice by day and even harder on a hobby at by night. And our kids hurt.
My heart ached over the direction we were headed and thankfully my husband became weary of the pace, too. We had a home of individuals living individual lives with little family community and much stress. So we did the only thing we knew to do in a last attempt to repair our mess…
We canceled EVERYTHING.
We made our world small.
Very, very small.
We moved from a megachurch to a church consisting of less than 100 people. Stopped sports, pulled out of social commitments, and canceled meetings. We even sold our LARGE dental practice, to take more time off. We played checkers, diffused our essential oils, watched four seasons of 24, and go reacquainted as a family.
I believe our family would be just another statistic today if we had not made these hard decisions. The culture shock was unreal…kinda like it’s been for the whole world the last few months with the unplanned Sabbath rest due to the pandemic.
Adjusting to our new, simple life took serious commitments and refocus. Fast-forward ten years and the dentist and I would not change one of those decisions. Our family has multiplied not only in people but in love, strength, unity, and effectiveness.
All our calendars will one day be full again, but hopefully with more unity. What we learned during that season was to schedule weekly dates for my husband and me first, then family ministry, kid’s activities, and lastly social events. We know that successful marriages and strong families do not just happen. So we made a plan to succeed. It’s good to say no to others in order to say yes to the vow promised to God. Never feel bad about disappointing others in order to stay true to your promise. I know my husband and I are each thankful that the other was willing to do the hard thing in order to have a strong happy marriage. It’s ok to slow down and even say that scary work, “no” to others.
So as we move back into re-opening the world I’d like to encourage you to not rush back into “normal” and continue this unplanned Sabbath rest, you won’t regret it! Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you!
You can do it!
Do you wonder if you can use essential oils with your family? They’ve been an absolute game-changer for our family, providing emotional support, as well as health and wellness support! If you’d like to learn more about essential oils and supplements be sure and message our sister site The Drops of Joy for more education or to start your monthly wellness box from Young Living just click here!
